Hawaii close-call: Chilling moment 15 metre ferry hurtles towards surfers at popular Waikiki beach
The disturbing moment a passenger ferry got smashed by a wave and careened into a popular surf spot in Hawaii has been caught on camera.
A local surf report account posted the video on social media, which starts showing a group of people surfing the popular Kewalos break in Waikiki, then quickly pans to the jaw-dropping moment a 15 metre ferry gets picked up by a wave and comes crashing towards the surfers, who frantically tried to get to shore.
Luckily, the boat narrowly misses the main group of surfers, before the vessel runs aground on some dry reef close to shore.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.The passenger ferry, which is operated by Atlantis Adventures and is used to transport people to and from a local dive site, had no guests on board apart from two crew members, according to News.com.
Maliny Soukkhasen, a board member of the Friends of Kewalo, said the incident happened around 8am local time.
“I’m just really grateful that nobody was hurt in terms of any of the surfers out on the water, hopefully they didn’t cause damage to the reef,” Soukkhasen said.
From the video on Instagram it appears the ferry took two large waves to the stern, which ended up disrupting its course. As the boat was halted aground by the shallow reef it lost propulsion.
Local media THV11 reported the coast guard confirmed that the vessel’s fuel, oil and batteries were removed after running aground on the reef, preventing the threat of pollution.
Many were quick to comment on the video, expressing their shock and remembering past tragedies when boat’s have hit surfers.
“Off da lip! 🌊,” one person said.
“I’ve seen crazy airdrops but boatdrops is the first 😮,” another added.
“They don’t learn from pass tragedy!! RIP bradda Paul “POHAKU” stone!! Gone but never forgotten,” another person commented, likely referring to the the tragic death of Hawaiian bodysurfer, Paul Stone, who’s body was recovered after an 40-metre boat hurtled into a Honolulu surf spot in 1984.
